Jim McNeely: On the Up and Up

If you own some of the best records of the Stan Getz quartet or you dig the great jazz orchestras, then there is a good chance that you have heardor better stillfelt Jim McNeely's touch before. Either way, if you want to learn more about some of the jazz giants that McNeely has backed on piano, including Getz, Chet Baker, Ted Curson, Thad Jones, Mel Lewis and Joe Henderson, as well as the jazz composing and arranging process, then you have certainly hit the right button to get to the right page.

Involved in writing and arranging for quite a few big band projects since the 1990s, McNeely was recently appointed artist-in-residence with the Hessian Radio Big Band in Frankfurt, Germany, following intensive collaborations with the Danish Radio Jazz Orchestra, the Metropole Orchestra (Netherlands), the West German Radio (WDR) Big Band and the Stockholm Jazz Orchestra. This year (2008) he will also be working with the Orquestra de Jazz de Matosinhos, from Portugal.

The one million dollar question seems to be: why is he working mainly with European bands?

Jim McNeely: I had taken piano lessons since I was seven, and when I was ten I started studying with a teacher who taught theory as well as piano skills. His name was Bruno Michelotti and, while he wasn't a jazz musician, he taught me how to read a lead sheet and play very simple left hand accompaniment to melodies. I didn't know about jazz, but the groundwork had been laid.

I remember seeing Duke Ellington's Orchestra on television, and being so impressed by the whole presentation: the mysterious music, the pride evident in the faces and attitudes of the musicians, and Duke himselfthe epitome of coolness.

I went to a Catholic high school near ChicagoNotre Dame High School for Boysbecause they had a big band directed by Rev. George Wiskirchen. When I started to play in the "B" Dance Band, I realized that in jazz you could improvise. That really excited me.

AAJ: Did you ever think that one day you were going to be a jazz musician and get to play with such jazz masters as Thad Jones, Mel Lewis, Stan Getz and Joe Henderson or write for the Carnegie Hall Jazz Band?

JM: Not when I was in my teens. I was pretty much a nerdy kid from the North Side of Chicago who loved John Coltrane and Miles Davis, and tried to play that kind of music, but didn't think I'd do it as a profession.

It was during my college years at the University of Illinois, that I began to get the idea that I could function in the New York City jazz world, as a pianist. I wasn't sure whom I would play with, but I knew that I wanted to go to New York.

AAJ: Did you ever regret having become a jazz musician? What was the thrill behind it?

JM: I have never, ever regretted it. I am, in fact, proud to have become a professional jazz musician. And very grateful to the many musicians who helped me, and had it a lot tougher than I ever did.

My career has had its highs and lows, but I've never regretted my choice. One of the thrills in jazz happens when I'm playing, and everything is just "happening." I'm not quite sure what will happen next, but it's sure exciting to experience it as it happens! A different kind of thrill occurs when I finally get a chance to play withor write forsomeone I've admired for a long time. Like the first time I played with Thad, or with Elvin Jones; or wrote for Dave Liebman.

AAJ: Do you miss those days playing with Ted Curson, the Mel Lewis Orchestra and then Stan Getz?

JM: I enjoyed those days, and learned a lot from all of those musicians. But I can't really say that I miss them, in the sense of wanting to go back. They were good times, and I have since moved on into other good times.

AAJ: Is there anything from the spirit of those years that you feel is missing in jazz nowadays?

JM: It's hard for me to be objective about that: I was young back then and am older now. But in New York in the late '70s and early '80s there were more small clubs with jam sessionsFolk City, Barbara's. There seemed to be more places to sit in, to hear and to get to know other musicians. Bradley's was happening; so was Boomer's, the Surf Maid, the Village Door. I met a lot of musicians in those clubs, mostly at some time after 2 am. More musicians could afford to live in Manhattan, it was easier to get together and play during the day.

Of course, I was single back then, living in a broom closet on Greenwich Street. Nowadays if I'm not playing a gig I try to be in bed at midnight or one, at my house in New Jersey. So maybe I'm part of the problem...

And two big differences between then and now: we played sets, not shows. And very few of us had representation.

AAJ: What about the new generations of jazz musicians. Who do you admire as soloists or arranger/composers?

JM: I certainly don't get a chance to hear everyone, so I'm no expert. But, off the top of my head, I'm impressed by Chris Potter, Dafnis Prieto, Brad Mehldau, Dave Douglas, Brian Blade, Steve Wilson, John Hollenbeck, and many others whom I'll remember at 4 o'clock tomorrow morning.

As for composer/arrangers, Maria Schneider is great. I also really admire Sherisse Rogers, Darcy J. Argue, Vince Mendoza, Florian Ross, Ted Nash, and Joseph Phillips Jr. There are many others and I'm sorry I can't mention them all.

I grew up listening to my father's Jazz records and listening to radio. My dad was a musician for many years as a vocalist, bassist and drummer. His two uncles played in the Symphony of Reggio Calabria back in Italy

I grew up listening to my father's Jazz records and listening to radio. My dad was a musician for many years as a vocalist, bassist and drummer. His two uncles played in the Symphony of Reggio Calabria back in Italy. So music and jazz specifically have been a part of me since I was born. I love and perform in all styles of music from around the world. Improvisation in jazz is what drew me in, and still does as well as other genres that feature improvisation. A group of great musicians expressing themselves as one is the hallmark of great jazz and in fact all great music.